Capturing the Art of Nature
Lady Peak
A new season and another attempt to reach the peak of this elusive mountain.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2010
Click on image to view gallery
It was 6 years since I first hiked Lady Peak, on that hike two of my sons, a nephew and I hiked the peak in the heat and reached the ridge line just short of the actual peak of the mountain. I have wanted to try it again ever since. Last year Ethan and I gave it a go but due to weather and a minor foot injury we were unable to reach even the ridge. So we planned a repeat attempt for this year. ¬ Today Ethan and I gave it another try.
In planning for the hike we were keeping close watch on the weather leading up to the Saturday. On some days it was saying that it had a chance of rain, fortunately by late Friday the rain warning was gone and we were left with cloud clearing by noon. This was good news and we went to bed with high expectations. Up early so we could leave by 7AM to get a good start on the slope before the heat of the day, we arrived at the parking area at 9:30. A few other trucks were already parked and a few arrived while we were getting setup. The Cheam hike certainly makes the trail busy. At least the part up to where we turn off for Lady Peak.
The drive along the Chipmunk FSR went quite smoothly, it seemed a bit less bumpy than on our previous visit which was a welcome development. Ethan made good time along the FSR even though he caught up to a couple of other drivers who took their time in deciding to let us pass them. It seems that Ethan has now gotten quite comfortable with the cross-ditches and doesn’t need to slow to a crawl to get over them safely.
Once parked, we did a quick radio check and determined that we would not require the bigger antennas for today’s hike. So we were soon off and on the trail. The first section is quite easy along the remainder of the road and we made very good time. Then it was into the bowl between Cheam and Lady Peak where Spoon Lake was glistening in the fleeting rays of sun. The clouds were still hugging the peaks clearing only briefly for quick glimpses of the peaks. This was starting to concern me as I really wanted to get some view for our effort.
The cool weather made the hiking much less tiring and we were just zipping along with little need for rest stops. Even I was able to go much further on the steeper sections than I normally have in previous hikes. This felt great and our time was very respectable. I figure the time it took us to reach the saddle between the two mountains was half or even less than what it took me on the last hike up here. That felt great as I always felt a bit embarrassed by the number of rest stops I needed on the incline. Once at the saddle we did stop for a bit to eat and a good rest then it was off to find the trail to Lady Peak.
The trail leaving the saddle is not well travelled and is hard to spot in places. It is also not that well marked so it was easy to lose it at a few points. We did manage to find it quite quickly each time we lost the path and so our progress was not significantly slowed by the lack of a clear trail. Soon we were past the shoulder between the peaks and up to the first steep shale covered slope of Lady Peak. Climbing over this loose rock can be quite tricky as a wrong step can send you down slope rather than up. I was able to pick out a path along the edge of the loose rock which seemed to make the climb easier for a couple hundred feet, but then I had to cross the rock slide to reach the area that provides a path up a vertical section. It went quite well and soon we were at the top of the first vertical portion and into an alpine heather field.
Though steep, walking the heather was easier as the ground was solid and not constantly trying to slide away during each step. Soon we reached the spot where we turned back last year and after passing it a hundred feet we stopped for a rest and a snack. It felt good to pass last year’s attempt while still having lots of time and energy. So after a rest we continued up the trail. Our next bit was to cross a snow field and then to search for a cairn in the distance. Our elevation had by now brought us into that cloud layer we were fretting about from below and it made it difficult to see things more than 150 feet away. As we gained more altitude the visibility dropped to only a dozen or so feet!
The slope was getting steeper again, with loose rock, so we needed to be very careful as we moved up lest we find ourselves boxed into a dead-end. At one point we did need to back track a bit. As we made our way up the cloud kept us from clearly seeing the ridge above us and we kept thinking we were almost there, but as we reached each succeeding ridge we saw another to climb to. After 30 minutes of this we finally did reach the main ridge with a vertical drop on the far side. Here we took a good rest and wondered where the trail went next.
We walked the ridge a bit to the south and dropped down a few feet to cross a short wall. Here we were met by another hiker who had caught up to us. He had been this far before and generally knew the way forward. We did end up taking a slightly harder way to reach the next section but we did manage to get back to the ridge on the far side of the wall. Ethan’s leg had cramped up and so he decided to rest here for a few minutes, while I and the other hiker continued on. We next had another wall to cross before reaching the final slope near the peak. I was surprised at finding a small stream up here and the amount of water flowing through a narrow gap this close to the peak was unexpected. It seems that the ice field above us is actually quite extensive and probably never fully melts over the summer.
We continued along the side of the snow and soon reached the top edge of the slope and the peak of Lady Peak. There was a short ridge to the south leading to a spire that went a few feet higher than us but it would require rock climbing gear which was well beyond our ability. We stared off into the thickening cloud and enjoyed the non-existent view. At least we knew from the gps that we had reached the top! After nibbling a few snacks we returned to the lower ridge where I had left Ethan and there Ethan and I stopped to eat lunch.
It was a good hike so far despite the cloud. Surprisingly the ground was still dry so we didn’t have to deal with slippery rocks as well as the loose ones. After lunch we started on the way down. The wind had picked up quite a bit by now and it was actually getting rather cool. We both had on an extra layer of clothing which kept us warm but we had only a single pair of gloves between us. The cloud was even thicker on our way down which made us more dependent upon my GPS but we were able to follow it quite easily and soon we were back to the more familiar area where we could find our way with little problem. We took a short cut on the way down which cut off a significant section of the trail and got us below the cloud sooner. It was definitely hugging the slope to a much lower point than when we went up. The rest of the hike to the truck went quite quickly even though we stopped for photos at various spots along the trail.
Once back on the FSR we came up to a cyclist who was racing along the rough road. He was sailing over the cross-ditches and was out running us along the road. That was most distressing – not able to keep up with a bicycle! But those ditches made us to slow down more than they did for him. Over all it was a great day of hiking and we enjoyed the success of our adventure, perhaps a return visit on a clearer day could still be considered.